Author Night for Little Shop of Horrors Book

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Author Night for Little Shop of Horrors Book

Attack of the Monster Musical: A Cultural History of Little Shop of Horrors Book Talk & Signing. 40th anniversary of beloved musical.

By Kevin Fitzpatrick

Date and time

Wednesday, September 28, 2022 · 6 - 8pm EDT

Location

The Lambs ®

3 West 51st Street New York, NY 10019

About this event

The Lambs has an extra author talk this month! By special arrangement, a book talk about one of the most-loved humble musicals, in time for its 40th anniversary. 

About the Book: How many hit musicals are based on films that were shot in two days at a budget of $30,000? The answer is one: Little Shop of Horrors. Roger Corman's monster movie opened in 1960, played the midnight circuit, and then disappeared from view. Two decades later, Little Shop of Horrors opened Off-Broadway and became a surprise success.

Attack of the Monster Musical: A Cultural History of Little Shop of Horrors chronicles this unlikely phenomenon. The Faustian tale of Seymour and his man-eating plant transcended its humble origins to become a global phenomenon, launching a popular film adaptation and productions all around the world. This timely and authoritative book by Adam Abraham looks at the creation of the musical and its place in the contemporary musical theatre canon. Examining its afterlives and wider cultural context, the book asks the question why this unlikely combination of blood, annihilation, and catchy tunes has resonated with audiences from the 1980s to the present.

At the core of this in-depth study is the collaboration between the show's creators, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Told through archival research and eyewitness accounts, this is the first book to make extensive use of Ashman's personal papers, offering a unique and inspiring study of one of musical theatre's greatest talents.

About the Author: Adam Abraham is the author of When Magoo Flew: The Rise and Fall of Animation Studio UPA and Plagiarizing the Victorian Novel: Imitation, Parody, Aftertext. He has also written for film, television, and theatre. Now a Visiting Assistant Professor at Cornell College, he previously taught at Auburn University, Virginia Commonwealth University, New York University, and Oxford.

About the moderator: Honorary Lamb Foster Hirsch, a professor of film at Brooklyn College and the author of 16 books on film and theater, including The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir, A Method to Their Madness: The History of the Actors Studio, and Kurt Weill on Stage: From Berlin to Broadway.

The book will be available for sale and signing.

RSVP here to attend this talk. You may also stay afterward for drinks and dinner in our pub, on Floor 2M. RSVP for the pub: 2Mdining@wnrc.org

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